Breaking the Code: How Enigma Broke the Axis Intelligence Barrier ​Senior Division Paper Ashlee Harriman Student-Generated Words: 2125 1 History of Cryptology Military ciphers have been used throughout history to communicate strategies and logistics secretly. The Allied forces were determined to break the German Cipher called the Enigma Code in order to gain the upper hand and end the war. In 1939, Alan Turing and his team at Bletchley Park began construction of the Bombe machine designed to decode the German messages. The discovery of a German Cipher machine on a German U-Boat turned the tide of the war, as the allies were now able to figure out Germany’s plans and end the war. The concept of Cryptology began as a way of inscriptions of the occult, the book of Jeremiah (which usedATBASH Cipher), directions to make “glaze” for pottery, and government communication. It was not until the invention of the Scytale or even the Ceaser Cipher that secret ciphers were used by ancient militaries.1 It was also estimated that in the 8th Century, Khalil ibn Ahmad al-Farahidi wrote Kitab al Muamma or The Secret Language Book. This Arabic book explains the author’s method of cryptology in Greek that begins with “In the name of Allah '' (in Arabic) and uses different combinations of words for the Byzantine emperor. This was the beginning of cryptanalysis and was a method used by those involved in the breaking of the Enigma code, yet this book is now lost.2 1 Morris. "CME Cryptologogy Timeline." Chart. CME Cryptology Timeline. Accessed ​ December 12, 2019. http://pi.math.cornell.edu/~morris/135/timeline.html. ​ ​ 2 "Kitab Al-Muammar." Clever Geek. Accessed November 12, 2019. ​ https://clever-geek.github.io/articles/4725816/index.html. 2 Between the time of the Kitab al Muammar and Leon Bastilla Albert’s cipher disk, authors wrote their own ciphers and opinions on them, such as Roger Bacon. Cryptology became political in Ghaznavid, a conquered Persian dynasty, and an earlier cipher disk created by Gabrieli di Lavinde (that was commissioned by Clement VII). The later Cipher disk was invented by the previously mentioned Leon Bastilla Alberti. This cipher disk became the inspiration of what is known to be Captain Midnight Decoder Badges (and rings), 3 kid toys that were used to promote a radio show based on World War I as well as pins for the Little Anne's Secret Society. 4 In 1553, Giovan Batista Belaso created what we know as the Vigenere, a cipher using a passphrase, which was falsely credited and coined by Blaise de Vigenere in 1585 (32 years after Belaso invented it).5 This cipher was used by the Confederacy in the Civil War, while the Union used flag signals, and was cracked by the use of the Kasiski examination, published by the namesake, Friedrich Kasiski in 1861. Thomas Jefferson and a mathematics professor, Dr. Robert Patterso, designed column transposition and the earliest form of M-138, a strip cipher used by the US navy during the course of World War II. A second version of M-138 was made by Captain Parker Hitt in 1913 and the strip form was converted back to wheel form in 1916 by Major Joseph O. Mauborgne who later produced the M-94, that he had produced by the Signal 3 Morris. "CME Cryptologogy Timeline." Chart. CME Cryptology Timeline. Accessed ​ December 12, 2019. http://pi.math.cornell.edu/~morris/135/timeline.html. ​ ​ 4 Oldradioshows, ed. "Code-o-graphs Ready! It's Time for Captain Midnight." Old Radio Shows. ​ Org. Accessed November 12, 2019. https://www.oldradioshows.org/2011/03/code-o-graphs-ready-it%E2%80%99s-time-for-captain- midnight/. 5 Morris. "CME Cryptologogy Timeline." Chart. CME Cryptology Timeline. Accessed ​ December 12, 2019. http://pi.math.cornell.edu/~morris/135/timeline.html. ​ ​ 3 Corps and had a stronger combination.6 In 1915, the rotor machine was invented by two Dutch naval officers, Theo van Hengel and RPC Sprengler. 7 During World War I, there were three important codes. The most famous are the Zimmermann Telegram, most known as the diplomatic telegram to Mexico and the Cherokee code talkers. In 1917, the Zimmermann Telegram, named after the German Foreign Minister, Arthur Zimmermann was to be sent to Mexico to offer their efforts against the US. Of course, the American people were aware, but it was the British SIGINT, Signals Intelligence, who deciphered it. The earliest Native American code talkers were the Cherokee, who preceded the Navajo code talkers. These code talkers, from both wars, used a language that was only used within the tribes but were not understood by the other party. These were later turned to the Enigma machine as technology advanced and Germany found better ways to encrypt secret military codes. World War II Begins Between 1919 and 1933, during the same time as cryptology became advertising for children’s toys that promoted radio shows, Little Orphan Annie and Captain Midnight, Germany became the Weimar Republic. The Weimar Republic was made in the town of Weimar by the assembly of Germany’s people after Germany’s last great emperor Kaiser Wilhelm II was abdicated. They suffered from an economic depression, a domino effect that was set by the 6 Morris. "CME Cryptologogy Timeline." Chart. CME Cryptology Timeline. Accessed ​ December 12, 2019. http://pi.math.cornell.edu/~morris/135/timeline.html. ​ ​ 7 Crypto Museum. "Enigma History." Crypto Museum. Last modified March 14, 2012. Accessed ​ November 29, 2019. https://www.cryptomuseum.com/crypto/enigma/hist.htm. 4 Treaty of Versailles (which then caused hyperinflation and then the depression). The middle class in Germany suffered a terrible economic crisis and people began to look for a leader within extremist parties with the fear of Communists in mind, the Nazi party. In 1932, the Nazi party was the largest party in the German parliament and Adolf Hitler became Chancellor a year later, then Fuhrer (the german word for leader and guide) in the following year. Yet it wasn’t until Germany invaded Poland without declaring war that World War II started.8 The Enigma Machine The Enigma machine was invented by Arthur Scherbius and his company, Scherbius & ​ Ritter. The first model, a print enigma machine called Die Handelsmaschine (or the trading ​ machine) was manufactured by another company called Gewerkschaft Securitas. Another model was manufactured by Chiffriermaschinen Aktiengesellschaft in 1920. There were other models ​ ​ ​ of the printing Enigma, the last (Enigma H29) being sold to the Hungarian Army in 1929. In 1924, the Enigmas got a new version called Gluhlampenmaschine or glow lamp machine). These lines of models are named in alphabetical order. These earlier models had a counter machine, called the Zahlwerk Enigma. The German army was interested in the machine since 1926, but remodeled Enigma D (the commercial machine) and renamed it to Enigma I, and only issued it to only for the Reichswehr (or what is now called Wehrmacht). To prevent the German manufacturers from being bombed by the allies, they had different companies producing the 8 The Wiemer Holocaust Libary. "The Weimer Republic." The Holocaust Explained. Accessed ​ November 12, 2019. https://www.theholocaustexplained.org/the-nazi-rise-to-power/the-weimar-republic/. This site explains Germany before and during Hitler's rise to power. 5 military model. These companies were the Heimsoeth und Rinke. The Enigma I is the model that the cryptanalysts at Bletchley Park decoded, which was used in the war.9 Enigma Functions The Enigma Machine resembles a giant typewriter on the outside, and to a normal eye and might even seem to function the same. The way it works within the machine is different. There are three rotors, each has a letter and a different output than what was typed on the keyboard. The board lights up to show the encrypted output and the first of the three rotors click. After 26 positions the second rotor clicks then the third goes. The third has seventeen-thousand different combinations before the process starts again. There was also a “plugboard” that sits between the rotor and the inputs and outputs that swapped pairs of letters. Earlier machines had six combinations with the plugboard while later models have ten combinations and a fourth rotor. The reflector is what made the code change.10 The Biuro Szyfrów Cracks the Code In the 1930s, The Polish Cipher Bureau, aka the Biuro Szyfrów, cracked the code with three brilliant mathematicians named Marian Rejewski, Jerzy Różycki, and Henryk Zygalski. These three men were doing research for Poland, as Poland was afraid of an invasion from Germany. Through their research, Zygalski made sheets that were used to exploit a weakness 9 Crypto Museum. "Enigma History." Crypto Museum. Last modified March 14, 2012. Accessed ​ November 29, 2019. https://www.cryptomuseum.com/crypto/enigma/hist.htm. 10 "The Enigma Cipher." Count on. Accessed November 12, 2019. ​ http://www.counton.org/explorer/codebreaking/enigma-cipher.p as well as Hern, Alex. "How ​ Did the Enigma Machine Work?" The Guardian. Last modified November 14, 2014. Accessed March 2, 2020. 6 that was in the commercial Enigma a decade prior. The Bureau then shared this information with Bletchley Park.11 During the exact same time, there were two spies named Rodolphe Lemoine (His birth name was Rudolf Stallmann) and Hans-Thilo Schmidt was getting information for the French, regarding the Enigma Machine under different code names and false identities. Lemoine, also known as Rex, was a very intimidating man who worked for the French Cipher Bureau (called Deuxieme Bureau), working undercover at a casino and was suspected to be a German spy by the French.